'Mahathir will not keep quiet on this matter - just you wait. He won't have a building which would overshadow his pride, the Petronas Towers.'
SusahKes: This budget is a disappointment in that there are no tax incentives for SMIs/companies/individuals under these trying economic times. No increase in taxable income band for companies as requested; no reduction in personal tax rates.
The government may not have introduced GST (goods and services tax), but its projection of increased revenue is based on the assumption that the local economy would improve. How naive is that assumption - the world economy is still in the doldrums?
Prime Minister Najib Razak's government offers no clue on how to make processes simpler for SMIs (small and medium-sized industries) that are operating in an increasing tougher environment; Pemandu hasn't been successful in 'memandu'.
Since Najib stipulates that government revenue would increase, it is safe to assume that in order to make his ‘predictions' come true, my guess is that the IRB (Inland Revenue Board) will be coming down hard on many taxpayers for collections.
This budget has failed to provide me any justification as to why my vote should return to BN.
Yum: This is to be a feel-good budget meant to help the rakyat. Why then do I not feel good about it? I can see how a 100-storey tower is transformative to the crony company that is going to design and build it. But I can't see how this can transform the economy to a high-wage one.
FedUp2010: The best way to teach this government a lesson is for us to take out our EPF (Employee Provident Fund) money and invest elsewhere. Go into properties or whatever. The more these idiots have, the more they will spend on stupid projects.
Ghkok: The budget is totally out of sync with reality. A 100-storey building in KL? That alone is sheer madness. Five-year freeze on toll increase? Okay, how much will the government be compensating the toll operators? Our money is being used anyway. The development of Sungai Buloh land using EPF money - again it is our money.
RM3 billion Nexus Karambunai resort in Sabah - what has it got to do with the government and why is our money used for this? RM15 billion allocated to PM's Department. This is 50 percent higher than the allocation for the Higher Education Ministry!
Albert: It's Mahathirism all over again. Mega this and mega that. Schools are congested and lacking facilities, people are dying on congested roads and lack of dual carriageway highways linking big towns and we have money for a 100-storey tower.
We lack hospitals and there is a shortage of nurses, teachers and doctors, why is there no modal insan (human capital) development? What about low-cost housing for the homeless? What happened to our priorities?
Temenggong: There does not seem to be any economic reform except spending, spending and spending a la Mahathir. It is another deficit budget, meaning we are headed straight for bankruptcy.
The government is non-committal on minimum wage and repatriation of foreign labour, meaning no movement towards a high-income nation. There is no removal of tariffs and permits which prop up a distorted and unreal, uncompetitive economy.
Kgen: Malaysia will do what no other country has ever done before - get the private sector to construct the mass rapid transit system. In every other country, the MRT must be build with public funds and written off as construction cost can never be recovered from operation.
What makes Malaysia so special? Or is public funds ready to save the cronies when the time comes?
Ericlcc: Why the special mention of additional RM100 million for Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen to spend? Is she really doing a great job or is she making us (the PM included) to believe she is doing a fantastic job?
Every now and then, she brags about figures and arrivals, but the truth is that the majority of arrivals are from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. These are not the ‘quality' tourists we had hoped for. Only a small minority - those with high-purchasing power - are from developed countries.
Everyone knows it is easy to lie with statistics. These figures she churns out comes from the research division within Tourism Malaysia. It is not collected by an independent third party like the Statistics Department. I wonder if she does any research on the cost her ministry spends just to get one new tourist arrival. What percentage of the arrivals are repeat ones?
Anonymous: Mahathir will not keep quiet on this matter - just you wait. He won't have a building which would overshadow his pride, the Petronas Towers. And spending RM5 billion on a white elephant is a sure way of ensuring the exit of BN in GE 13.
Just me: Tallest building, highest car prices in Asean, high income taxes and lowest FDI. We sure are the best and worst at things.
'Rosmah' jabs greet Najib's budget speech
Changeagent: I think the opposition are being a little bit naughty here. Everyone knows Rosmah prefers to do her shopping overseas.
Fairnessforall: What's the point of abolishing tax when we all know the prices of all those goods are not going to go down. Despite the fact that the US dollar has gone down tremendously against the ringgit, imported goods are still as high as ever. The weak US dollar has not affected the price of imported goods.
Artchan: Rosmah prepared the Budget speech and Pink Lips read it to perfection.
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